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Elementary STE TWS IV. Case Study

Tanner Pietz
School of Education, Northern State University
Fall Music Student Teaching
Dr. Terry Beckler
5 November 2023
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Throughout my time at XYZ Elementary School, I have been able to meet and teach

many students. There was a specific first grade student that caught my attention the first day of

school. For privacy reasons, I will be referring to this student as Grace. Grace caught my

attention for many reasons. For one, she was attentive, engaged, and seemed to enjoy music

class. I also noticed that she was shorter in height than the rest of the students in her class. I later

found out that there was a medical condition that Grace had involving her thyroid that caused

this difference in height, as well as some other symptoms that made school difficult.

My CT informed me about the medical condition that Grace had, involving her thyroid,

but did not know the specifics of the condition. I was told that it caused the stunting of growth,

pain in the stomach, rough/peeling skin, and drowsiness. These symptoms made it hard for Grace

to participate in class, as well as accomplishing everyday tasks. Certain things she struggled and

still continues to struggle with are being able to see or read something at the front of a classroom,

usually because her view is blocked by a music stand, chair, or another student. Besides her

struggles with her height, stomach pains and skin irritation, it made it difficult to concentrate and

stay attentive throughout the school day. Along with this condition, Grace has other students in

her class who are on IEP’s and sometimes create disruptions during class. I have seen her get

upset because of the time the disruptions take away from music class. Since the class length is

not fairly long, the disruptions can keep us from moving on in class.

Despite the hurdles that Grace faced throughout the school day, I believe her family was

the main reason that she has been able to deal with these difficulties so well. She has a family of

five, her parents, two sisters, one older, and one younger. From what my CT tells me about her

family, they are very supportive and through that, created a space where she is comfortable

talking about some possibly uncomfortable topics, like how she may be feeling. Grace was the
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one who went to her parents to tell them about the symptoms she was experiencing. As a future

teacher, what can I do to help accommodate students who might be experiencing issues similar to

Grace in class?

The height situation is an easy problem to solve that my CT and I have already made

plans to address. We started to offer a front row seat to students who struggle seeing the board

due to height, or distance away from the board. Along with this, we have made efforts to make

text larger on the board for students to read. What can we do to help other students with chronic

or other medical conditions? According to the CDC, “adolescents with chronic health conditions

spend many hours in school and depend on trained school staff and a healthy school environment

to help them manage these conditions”. In Addressing the Needs of Students with Chronic Health

Conditions: Strategies for Schools, the CDC offers strategies to help accommodate students who

have chronic illnesses. They suggest providing health services at school, provide education to

parents and families, provide professional development opportunities for staff, and provide

counseling and other social services to students (CDC). Grace, along with her thyroid condition,

struggles with other classmates creating disruptions in class. These disruptions visibly bother her

and other students who want to continue with class. How can I also challenge these students who

are excited about class and are frustrated by disruptions from other students?

Stephanie Standerfer writes about differentiation instruction in Differentiation in the

Music Classroom. Differentiation is described as, “structured learning to fit the students rather

than require that students adapt to fit the curriculum” (Standerfer p. 43). While this might not be

completely adaptable, I believe certain parts of this instruction can be useful for a situation like

Grace and her class. “Differentiated musical experiences allow the struggling learner, the

advanced learner, and on the on-grade level learner to experience appropriate levels of challenge
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as they work to master essential information, ideas, and skills” (Standerfer p. 44). In situations

where you have many different learners in one room, more often than not, the differentiation

instruction techniques can reach a wide variety of learners.

For example, if this third-grade class was working on the note names of the treble clef. I

can have an activity where the information is presented to them, and they practice with the visual

aid. To accommodate the other learners who may need to move, we could play an interactive

game that requires them to move and actively practice the names of the notes. These types of

differentiated lessons can help the diverse learners in the classroom and help eliminate certain

behaviors in the classroom. I believe that adding certain accommodations for those who struggle

with certain medical issues and using differentiated instruction can benefit students like Grace.

This can help create a safe learning environment where students are free to explore music and

feel comfortable knowing that they will be taken care of.

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References

CDC. (2017). Chronic health conditions and academic achievement. Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/chronic_conditions/pdfs/2017_02_15-

CHC-and-Academic-Achievement_Final_508.pdf

Standerfer, S. L. (2011). Differentiation in the Music Classroom. MENC.

https://benjaminbolden.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2011-Standerfer-Differentiation-in-

Mus-Ed.pdf